Confessions of a Royal Protection Officer

Simon Morgan, who spent years guarding the Queen and Prince Charles, gives DOMINIC MIDGLEY an insider's account of life in the line of fire on the eve of the screening of the first episode of BBC One drama Bodyguard.

Simon Morgan spent six years working for the Royal Protection Department (Image: Steve Finn Photography)

After the deranged Islamist terrorist Khalid Masood had killed a policeman at the gates of the Houses of Parliament in March last year it was a protection officer working for the Defence Secretary who shot him dead.

The incident highlighted the vital role played by members of RASP, the Royalty And Specialist Protection branch of London's Metropolitan Police, in guarding everyone from the Queen and Prince Charles to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The nature of the relationship between public figures and the people assigned to protect them is to be scrutinised in prime time by the BBC's new Sunday night drama series Bodyguard, starring Keeley Hawes as the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague.

The story is told through the eyes of her new bodyguard David Budd, played by Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden, a war veteran turned copper.

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Unfortunately, Montague's politics represent everything he despises and Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs, which begs the question: is the man responsible for her safety actually her biggest threat?

One viewer who will be watching the series with particular interest is Simon Morgan because he is not only an ex-policeman but a former member of what used to be called the Royalty Protection Department.

He spent six years from 2007 to 2013 at the side of one or other of the 13 members of the Royal Family who were then entitled to personal protection officers, including the head of The Firm herself, the Queen.

If Budd stands in the wrong place when his "principal" is exiting her car, mishandles his 9mm automatic or fails to scan a crowd for potential assailants, Morgan, 45, will spot it immediately because, apart from his years of experience, he has completed about 30 weeks of training courses on everything from anti-hijack driving and unarmed combat to firearms handling and emergency life support.

What he doesn't know about the psychology and practice of bodyguarding isn't worth knowing.

"There are three stages of conflict, fight, flight or freeze," he says. "As a professional, freeze has been trained out of you so you have two options: do you fight or do you take flight.

"But your principal hasn't had your level of training so they may well freeze. They might just stand there as time, as far as they're concerned, stops and everything goes on around them.

"If you play back footage of the London Bridge incident [when three Islamic State terrorists armed with knives mounted a savage attack on people enjoying a night out] as many people as you see running you see standing still. Their brains can't take in what is happening so their bodies effectively shut down. You never know how your principal is going to react so you react for them."

Richard Madden with Keeley Hawes in BBC show (Image: BBC)

One of the times the principal is most vulnerable is when they are arriving at or leaving a location.

If something goes wrong the protection officer has to decide whether to bundle them back into the car and accelerate away or make for the safety of a building.

"That's what the protection officer is thinking while the principal gets out, meets and greets the host, waves to fans, or to the press. You have thought of everything that might happen during that simple walk of two or three yards."

But nothing compares to the anxiety of policing one type of event in particular. Morgan says: "The most pressured part of a protection officer's role is a walkabout with the Royal Family. They are very much principals of the people and they want to go to speak to the public and the public wants to speak to them.

Simon with Her Majesty The Queen (Image: Suzan/EMPICS Entertainment)

"It may only last for 15 to 20 minutes but it's mentally draining. You'll go back into the safety of a vehicle or a building afterwards and think, 'That was hard.'"

As the itineraries of politicians and members of the Royal Family are often made public, eternal vigilance is the key.

He says: "You're constantly checking out people in the crowd.

"You're looking at hands, you're looking at eye contact, you're looking at dress - that's very relevant at a time like this when we are dealing with suicide bomber-type scenarios. Why has someone got a very heavy winter coat on on a lovely summer's day?

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"All these little signs are part of what gets built up as part of your operational profile.

“That's why the training element to become a protection officer is so long and so intricate. You will do something in the region of 26-30 weeks of courses over your career."

When it comes to driving alone there at least five courses: basic driver, response driver, advanced driver, anti-hijack driver, armoured car driver. Then there is the training in firearms handling, situational awareness, contingency planning and more.

Morgan always carried a Glock 17 in a side holster when he was guarding the Royal Family but it was kept hidden from view under a well-cut jacket. He says: "UK protection is all about being discreet and unobtrusive. It's not about a show of force. The [US] Secret Service do things differently.

The most pressured part of a protection officer's role is a walkabout with the Royal Family (Image: GETTY )

"There was always the potential that something could happen and you were always thinking, 'What if?' What if I open the door now and we have an IED [improvised explosive device] go off? What if I open the door now and we take shots? What if I open the door now and the principal falls out of the car because we haven't parked in the right place and they step into a pot-hole? What if? What if? What if?"

Royal protection policy, as we know it today, was created in the wake of a traumatic episode involving Princess Anne in 1974.

An unemployed labourer called Ian Ball attempted to kidnap the Princess by ambushing her car on The Mall. He shot and wounded four men including the Princess's driver but was eventually scared off by the arrival of more police and passers-by.

A major overhaul of royal security ensued and by the time Morgan joined the department it numbered 107 officers. He left in 2013 to set up a private security company called Trojan Consultancy to work with people who have "wealth, visibility or status - sometimes all three".

Princess Anne was involved in a traumatic incident in 1974 (Image: GETTY)

He says: "Lots of the rich business people we work for choose us because of the nature of how we deliver protection, which is in a discreet and unobtrusive manner that allows them to carry on their business."

Trojan - which charges £750 a day for the services of a former royal or ministerial protection officer - was employed by the organisers of the annual ITV gala to look after big stars such as Holly Willoughby and they also provided security for the organisers of the weddings of Pippa Middleton and Game Of Thrones star Kit Harrington.

But when one client requested that Morgan "toughen up" his son by teaching him some unarmed combat techniques things went a little awry.

Morgan recalls: "The client asked if we could teach his son some self-protection moves such as heel palm strikes - you don't use your fists because you'll break the bones in your hand - and I was teaching him a knee strike - leg back, knee forward - when my Achilles tendon just snapped. That was it, I was out for three months."

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Bodyguard Simon Morgan and Rachel Weisz (Image: NC)

That was in January and Morgan is now back.

He will certainly be watching Bodyguard tomorrow night.

He says: "I suppose it's asking the the ultimate question: Would you give your life to save hers? The age-old moral dilemma of the bodyguard!" ?

Simon Morgan is director of operations and training with Trojan Consultancy.